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HomeSportsAustin Peay State University Women's Basketball travels to Southeast Missouri

Austin Peay State University Women’s Basketball travels to Southeast Missouri

Austin Peay (10-5| 1-3 OVC) at Southeast Missouri (10-5 | 2-2 OVC)

Thursday, January 16th, 2020 | 5:15pm CT
Cape Girardeau, MO | Show Me Center

APSU Women's BasketballClarksville, TN – Two weeks ago the Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s basketball team welcomed Southeast Missouri to the Dunn Center, where the Redhawks knocked off the Govs in the Ohio Valley Conference opener.

Austin Peay State University Women's Basketball faces Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau, Thursday. (Robert Smith, APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay State University Women’s Basketball faces Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau, Thursday. (Robert Smith, APSU Sports Information)

On Thursday, at 5:15pm, the Governors and Redhawks will play round two at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Austin Peay State University  (10-5,1-2) enters the third week of OVC play having picked up its first conference win the last time out against Jacksonville State.

Southeast Missouri (10-5, 2-2) also picked up a win in their last game, beating Tennessee State, 85-34.

About the Southeast Missouri Redhawks

Southeast Missouri leads the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring offense, averaging 73.2 points per game. The Redhawks offense is led by Carrie Shepard (16.8 ppg) and Tesia Thompson (16.5 ppg), who rank fourth and fifth in the OVC in scoring — making them the only pair of teammates in the top five of the league.

Despite leading the OVC in offense, Southeast Missouri does not shoot the three-point shot that often as a team, as they rank eighth in the conference averaging just 5.4 three-pointers per game. But when the Redhawks do shot the triple, they are efficient from behind the arc, shooting 30.2 percent from three-point range — good for fourth best in the conference.

The main long-range threat for the Redhawks is Shepard, who leads the OVC, averaging 3.2 made three-pointers per game.

Along with Austin Peay State University, Southeast Missouri is the only other team in the conference to own a positive scoring margin (+9.2), rebounding margin (+9), and turnover margin (+4.6). The Redhawks plus nine rebounding margin is the best in the league, as Southeast Missouri averages an OVC-best 45.1 rebounds per contest.

Last Time Out Against Southeast Missouri

Just two weeks ago, Austin Peay welcomed Southeast Missouri to the Dunn Center for the OVC opener, where the Redhawks knocked off the Governors, 79-66, on January 2nd.

Austin Peay State University was led by Ella Sawyer. The freshman from Adelaide, Australia, posted career highs in points (16) and assists (6). Sawyer also blocked two shots, recorded three steals, and connected on a pair of three-pointers.

Arielle Gonzalez-Varner added another 15 points for the Governors, and pulled down a game-high 9 rebounds. The senior from the Queen City shot 66.7 percent from the floor in the contest. 

The game against Southeast Missouri marked the first time all season that another team had taken more shots than the Govs. The Redhawks did a good job controlling the ball in the contest, as the Governors forced a season-low 13 turnovers in the game.

What to Watch For      

Austin Peay State University leads the OVC in three-point field goals made (128) and three-pointers attempted (411). They are second in the league in three-point percentage (31.1%).

The Governors rank third in the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring offense (70 ppg).

Nationally, the Govs rank 22nd in three-point field goals made per game (8.5).

The APSU Govs have deployed a full-court press this season that is forcing 21.3 turnovers per game. That ranks 20th in the NCAA and leads the OVC.

The Governors rank second in the OVC with a plus 4.71 turnover margin and are the only team in the conference that averages 20 or more forced turnovers per game.

Senior Arielle Gonzalez-Varner pulled down double-digit rebounds in both games last week — marking the third time this season she has recorded double-digit boards in back-to-back games.

In OVC play, Ella Sawyer leads freshman in scoring, averaging 11.5 points per game.

Gonzalez-Varner is averaging 14 points per game and is shooting an OVC-best 60 percent from the floor in conference games.

The APSU Govs are one of two teams in the OVC that has a positive scoring margin (+3.4), rebounding margin (+2), and turnover margin (+4.6) — the other team is Southeast Missouri.

The Governors snapped their first losing streak of the season when they knocked off Jacksonville State, 63-57, to pick up their first win in OVC play.

 Austin Peay State University is set to wrap up a 19-day, four -game OVC road trip when they take on Southeast Missouri and UT Martin this weekend.

 

Tickets

Governors Courtside Seating returns for the 2019-20 season. Fans can contact the APSU Athletics Ticket Office for courtside seating availability and pricing. The VIPeay Hoops Experience, available to Black Tie Monocle Society members and above, also returns for 2019-20 after a successful debut last season. For more information on joining the Governors in the Dunn Center this winter, to secure season tickets or to become involved with the Monocle Society, call 931.221.PEAY.

You can also purchase tickets online at www.LetsGoPeay.com/buytickets; be sure to access the new 360-degree view of the Dunn Center when purchasing tickets.

Austin Peay State University Govs Online

Check back at LetsGoPeay.com and on Austin Peay State University’s Official Athletics Facebook page often for up-to-date news about all APSU Governor athletics, as well as the Governor women’s basketball Twitter page (@AustinPeayWBB). Live stats will be available during the game at PeayStats.com, and all home games and Ohio Valley Conference games can be viewed on the ESPN+ app.

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